Chase, Jones lead Kings to their maiden CPL title
Kings were struggling at 51 for 4 in their chase of 139 before Chase and Jones silenced the home crowd
Kings were struggling at 51 for 4 in their chase of 139 before Chase and Jones silenced the home crowd
Commentator: @himanshu_a30
Faf du Plessis collects the CPL trophy, before proceeding to join his mates for the celebration. Daren Sammy can hardly hold his joy back, as he leaps and giggles while du Plessis holds the trophy aloft. With this, we wrap up CPL 2024, as yet another T20 league comes to a close. Thanks for your company throughout, as this is Himanshu signing off on behalf of Thilak! Good night!
Faf du Plessis, Kings captain: "This franchise has been looking to get that trophy for a long time. Against this opposition, in front of a big crowd - there's no bigger place to play a final... I would have liked it a bit easier to be honest! I was very happy with the bowling. It was a decent decision [at the toss]. We were very positive to get that score. In our minds, we wanted to play very positively... Just two or three overs made a really big difference. The ball starts to get wet. For Jones and Chase to absorb the pressure was incredible... If you look throughout the competition, there are no superstars here."
Imran Tahir, Warriors captain: "We didn't start well with the bat. We knew dew was going to come... Tough luck today. I also want to congratulate St Lucia Kings. If we batted better, we could have had 170 or 180. That is good score on this pitch, especially with the spinners we have. Just one over took it away. We like to keep Shepherd as late as we can. The other batters had a lot of dot balls. They didn't try and rotate strike. I was happy with Shephy; we needed him for the last four or five overs. Things were going really well; they needed 13 an over... We were putting pressure on them. It could be one more dismissal, and you never know."
Noor Ahmad is the Player of the Tournament: "It's quite a special day for us, and for St Lucia. Everyone tried to give their best. Seeing the conditions, and bowling according to that. We played three games before that, so we had good planning. And that's what gave us success. From the first day we had believe that we will be champions."
Roston Chase is the Player of the Match: "It's a great feeling. I made two finals, and lost... The captain told that was the best match-up [to Hope]. The game was still close, but Guyana bowled a couple of tight overs. Then the rate got to 13, and I told Aaron that we need a big over."
11.46pm After a long wait, it is finally time for the presentations
Ike: "Everyone has to think of Brathwaite's 4 sixes, but the most amazing clutch performance I ever saw (via television) was Narine's wicket maiden super over (or Super Grover, as we like to call it)."
While we wait for the presentations, tell us about some of your favourite T20 heroics from pressure situations - maybe with the bat, ball or in the field. Bring it on!
Shashank: "Feel for Moeen, destiny had a very different story for Axar after a similar over earlier this year!" --- Indeed!
Ravi: "Moeen Ali had a superb tournament but all he will be remembered for now is bowling the over that cost his team the final"
Roston Chase: "Means a lot. I have been in two finals before, and I made up my mind this morning."
Aaron Jones: "We know playing in the final is going to be a challenge... We came out on top. I think of myself as a match-winner."
11.03pm In the 2014 FIFA World Cup final, Germany's coach Joachim Low sent out Mario Goetze with a message, and the substitute scored a trophy-winning goal. Something similar happened today: Kings' coach Daren Sammy sent out a word to the struggling Jones and Chase, who had to score 65 off 30 balls, and, until then, were hardly managing to put the ball away. That is when a switch flicked, and they went on a rampage: boundaries and sixes leaked like never before, and Moeen Ali was taken for 6, 6, 4, 6, 4 in a 27-run over that turned the game on its head. Those 65 runs were hammered off only 20 deliveries, giving Kings their first CPL title. That over broke the deadlock, and Chase hit 39* off 22 balls, while Jones thrashed 48* from 31. Hang around for the presentations.
Tahir will bowl
One more to win, and this time I'm willing to put my money on Jones depositing this ball out of the ground.
Mark: "The win probability percentage for the Warriors dropped from almost 60 to 2.49 in just 2 overs. Amazing stuff!"
Kings were struggling at 51 for 4 in their chase of 139 before Chase and Jones silenced the home crowd
Aaron Jones exemplified the ethos set up by Sammy and du Plessis to win the final in grand style
All eyes will be on the weather and the pitch in Providence, as Amazon Warriors look to defend their title
All of 19, he has already played in the IPL, PSL, BBL, the Hundred, MLC, LPL and SA20, and could soon have a CPL title to his name